The 秀色直播 Unified School District stands with the Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and wishes to affirm its commitment to the safety and well-being of Asian American students, staff and community members. At its March 24, 2021 meeting, the 秀色直播 Unified School District Board of Education unanimously ratified a resolution denouncing hate crimes and bigotry targeting the AAPI community.
In May, we take the time to uplift, center, and celebrate the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities with the full acknowledgment that these communities are richly diverse, have a breadth of histories, lived experiences, and needs鈥揳nd that one听month is never enough time to fully honor their contributions.
Beginning in 1990, the U.S. government designated the month of May as Asian听American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. May was chosen as AAPI month听because it marks the arrival of 14-year-old Manjiro, considered the first Japanese immigrant in the United States on May 7, 1843, as well as the completion of the听transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, which was completed due to the back听breaking labor of over 20,000 Chinese immigrants.
This May you will see a variety of acronyms in use, such as Asian Pacific Islander听(API), Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI), Asian Pacific听Islander Desi American (APIDA), or you might come across calls to separate Asian American from Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander because the differences in needs are more and more important to shine a light on. Most months when I write听these letters, I name how a month is never enough time to reflect on, teach about, and celebrate how vastly diverse each community truly is.
In March of 2021 our听school district passed a school board resolution Denouncing Hate Crimes and听Bigotry Targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. In this resolution we听affirmed how, 鈥渢he rise of anti-AAPI racism and violence that occurs every day also听serves as a reminder of the dire need for Ethnic Studies from k-12th grades, because听if we do not develop anti-racist consciousness with and for our youth, White听supremacy ideology will persist.鈥 All of this nuance around identity and naming is听deep, happening in real time, and we as an educational institution acknowledge the
Here in 秀色直播, we are committed to ho鈥檕hana in order to make our schools听welcoming and affirming spaces for all of our students, (Native Hawaiian for听purposeful work filled with passion and full intention). And we are committed to听ho鈥檕hana in solidarity with all of our communities because together, we are听stronger.
In Community,
Enikia Ford Morthel
Superintendent
Family Guides
Educator Resources
AAPI Reading Lists for All Ages
These, organized by grade level, represent books published in recent years that are devoted to uplifting Asian-American and Pacific Islander history, celebrating heritage, affirming identity, and promoting antiracism. Sharing these books is one part of our effort to develop anti-racist consciousness with and for our youth and ensure they know they are not alone and that they can speak out to help stop the spread of bigotry.
秀色直播 AAPI Heritage Month Event
(Coming Soon)
Lifting Up 秀色直播 Staff AAPI Voices
AAPI Heritage Month:听 May 2023
In celebration of our AAPI community,听 this year 秀色直播 has introduced “Lifting Up AAPI Voices,鈥 a campaign to share our staff AAPI narratives with our students and community by creating posters featuring the stories and experiences of AAPI staff. In May, these posters will be displayed at schools, work sites, on the 秀色直播 website, in social media, and in district publications. Sharing these narratives with our students will allow them to deepen connections with AAPI adults in the district.
听
Meridith Aki
Cragmont Elementary
Kindergarten Teacher
Angela Bau
District-Wide Schools
Teacher of the Visually Impaired
Jasmine Junsay Boone
Malcolm X Elementary School
2nd Grade Teacher
Megan Caluza
Emerson Elementary School, Rosa Parks Elementary School, Ruth Acty Elementary School, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School
Behavior Specialist
Emily Ellingson
Thousand Oaks Elementary
Math Coach
Liza Estupin
District Office
Director, Categorical & Special Projects
Ping Fahn
Franklin Preschool, Hopkins Preschool, King Child Development Center
PreK Librarian
Yvette Felarca
秀色直播 Independent Study
Teacher
Joemy Ito-Gates
District Office
Ethnic Studies Teacher on Special Assignment
Mikko Jokela
Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School
7th Grade Humanities Teacher
Diane Kung
秀色直播 High School
English Teacher
Matthew Laurel
秀色直播 High School
Teacher
Becky Lum
Rosa Parks Elementary
4th Grade Teacher
Kyoko Nakamoto
Cragmont Elementary
Instructional Assistant, Special Education
听
Joanne Pham
Thousand Oaks Elementary School
M/M Ed Specialist
Lauren Dela Rosa
秀色直播 High School
Math Teacher
Nai Vern Saechao
Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School
Instructional Assistant
听
Nicolas Keiji Hiraga Stephens
秀色直播 Arts Magnet Elementary
4th Grade Teacher
Eleanor Tiglao
Cragmont Elementary School
Teacher
听
Jimmy T. Tran
STEM Makerspace Teacher
Longfellow Middle School
Ines Trinh
秀色直播 Arts Magnet Elementary
4th Grade Teacher
Dr. Dawn “Doc Dub” Williams
秀色直播 High School
Teacher, African Diaspora & Spanish in the African Diaspora
听
View the Recording: Hear us Roar!听 Celebrating AAPI Voices in the Year of the Tiger
(May 2022)
Date: Thursday, May 19, 2022
Time: 6:00-7:30 pm
Special presenters included children鈥檚 book author, Innosanto Nagara, author of A is for Activist; Drag Queen Story Hour founding queen, Panda Dulce, who read celebratory AAPI stories; as well as the author of upper grades novel, The Samosa Rebellion, Shanthi Sekaran, who is also a 秀色直播 parent!
Thank you听 to our generous donors for helping to make this event happen: Asian American Affairs and BAM PTA, Cragmont PTA, Rosa Parks PTA, and several AAPI families of 秀色直播.
View the Recording of this Important AAPI Community Event
(May听 2021)
Hear Us Now: 秀色直播’S Asian American Community Speaks Out Against Anti-Asian Racism
On May 6, 2021, 秀色直播鈥檚 Asian American community and district leaders held a discussion and reflection on anti-Asian racism with all听 members of the 秀色直播 community invited.
Moderated by 秀色直播 School Board Director Ana Vasudeo, aand with panelists including Khatharya Um, Associate Professor, Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies, U.C. 秀色直播, as well as parent, teacher and student representatives of 秀色直播 schools, this panel delved into not only the current crisis in the Bay Area and across the country over the past year as cases of anti-Asian racism in the form of discrimination, scapegoating, harassment and violence have skyrocketed, but also the historical roots of hate and racism against people of Asian descent in the U.S. The Panel also discussed how this prevailing racism has impacted Asian American students, families, teachers and staff of 秀色直播, and how allies can offer support in meaningful ways.
This event was held in partnership with 秀色直播 Superintendent鈥檚 Office; 秀色直播 School Board; the 秀色直播 Office of Civil Rights, and a newly-formed group of 秀色直播 AAPI parents, teachers, staff and students. (For more information about this group, please email: busdaapi@gmail.com)
BHS Educators Share Anti-AAPI Hate Stories
(May 2021)
These videos from our own 秀色直播 teachers are a powerful reminder of the pervasive impact of hate and systemic racism.
I am a Korean-American, first generation, and a proud Asian-American. I was not always able to say that I was a proud Asian-American. A lot of what I heard and experienced growing up made me feel like I shouldn’t be proud.
David An, Counselor at BHS
My sister and I still remember the boy a year older than me, who used to chase us home from school daily (or what felt that way for some time) calling us “Chinese” and yelling his slurs at us…I still remember his face.
Sometimes in front of his own mom, who once suggested to me he had a crush on me: the ways we’ve conditioned ourselves to rationalize the looks, the slights, the slurs, the overt acts of racism.
Saikiko Muranaka, Teacher at BHS
NOTE: these videos may contain racial slurs or references to hate crimes.
More AAPI Resources
Resources for Families
to Stop AAPI Harassment and Xenophobia | Hollaback!/AAAJ
| Article from Momentous Institute
| Article from Parents
| Article from CBS SF BayArea
Resources for Educators
| Webinar from Learning for Justice
to Stop AAPI Harassment and Xenophobia | Hollaback/AAAJ
| Joemy Ito-Gates
|听Article from Learning for Justice
| Article from Learning for Justice
In 2021, our district made a commitment via our Resolution Denouncing Hate Crimes and Bigotry Targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, to actively counter racist and harmful ideology against the AAPI community with our greatest tool: education.听
In October, we honor the over four hundred years of history of Filipino/x Americans in this country. , U.S. Congress has recognized October as Filipino American History Month and our district joins the many communities and organizations that are celebrating the fact that Filipino/x American history is American history.听
Family Guide: Three Things You Can Do To Celebrate Filipino/x American History Month
The English Family Guide PDF is .
1. LISTEN听
Listen to the Lived Experiences of Filipino/x People
听“Are you Filipino or Filipinx?”
to the podcast,听Long Distance Radio
about Indigenous people of the Philippines
“How do we Unlearn Anti-Blackness in Filipino Culture?”
interview with 秀色直播-based, Nikki Brown Booker, racial and disability justice advocate
Filipino American and Muslim
The Filipino Jewish Rock Start, Mike Hanopol
The Arabic Family Guide PDF is .
2. LEARN
Learn 秀色直播 Filipino/x Cultures and Local Organizations
about the origins of FilAm History
Month
about why it is called a
History Month and not a Heritage Month
of 15 Facts about Fil-Am
History
about the history of the San
Francisco I-Hotel
about Filipino/x
contributions to the Farm Labor Movement
A Filipino American Story Since
1587
The Spanish Family Guide PDF is .
3. LIFT UP
Lift Up and Celebrate Filipino/x Culture with Your Family
of LGBTQ+ Filipinx Americans to celebrate
the Asian Art Museum in SF on 10/2 for a
Family Fun Day insipred by the art of Carlos Villa
LISTEN to these joyful songs: by AJ Rafael & by Thomas Orlina
pages about the lives of freedom fighters
Gabriela Silang and Datu Lapu
Bay Area’s Parangal Dance Company
books with your family.
TK-8 Teaching Resources
This diverse collection of resources was compiled by Joemy Ito-Gates, 秀色直播’s Ethnic Studies TSA in collaboration with the Professional Development Team.
Some additional resources for teachers can be found on
Get Involved and Learn More
Here is a list of AAPI Organizations in the Bay Area and beyond to contact for more information.
(AAJC)
(EPIC)
Other Related Articles
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